Some time ago, eggplant, which is a heat-loving vegetable, was grown exclusively in the southern regions. But time is changing, through the efforts of breeders, such varieties and hybrids of culture have been bred that grow normally and bear fruit in any climate. To obtain generous harvests, an important condition is the cultivation of eggplant seedlings. How to do it right, in what ways, read the article.
Planting by maturity
The timing of sowing seeds for seedlings depends on the period of ripening of fruits, which are early, medium and late. At the time of planting seedlings in the ground, their age should be at least 40-45 days. With that in mind, it's easy to figure out when to sow the seeds. The main thing is not to forget to take into account three to five days during which the seedlings sprout, and 10 days after the pick. This is the time needed for the small plants to recover.
Based onof this, eggplant seeds should be sown two to two and a half months before the onset of the seedling planting period in the place where it will grow constantly. It can be a greenhouse or a garden bed. If vegetables are grown indoors, eggplant seeds are sown for seedlings in mid-February. If they grow in the garden beds - at the beginning of the first month of spring.
Sowing dates depending on the region
Seeds will only germinate when the air temperature is at least 16 oC. When to sow eggplant seeds? In each region, this period occurs at different times:
- For the middle band, the optimal time for sowing seeds is the second decade of March. Seedlings will grow up, get stronger, they can be planted in the ground at the beginning of the first month of summer.
- The southern regions are characterized by a milder and warmer climate. Here the seeds are sown in early February. Accordingly, seedlings are planted earlier, in mid-April.
- The Volga region is a fertile region for growing crops, including eggplant. The best time for sowing seeds is the end of February or the beginning of March. Planting seedlings in the ground falls on the second decade of the month of May.
- The Urals and Siberia are characterized by a more severe climate. Eggplants will fully ripen if the seedlings are planted in the ground at the beginning of the first month of summer. In this case, sowing eggplant seeds for seedlings is carried out in mid-March. This period may continue until the beginning of the second month of spring.
Checking seeds for germination
Growing eggplant seedlings begins with the selection of seeds and checking them for germination. For this you need:
- Prepare a cotton bag.
- Place 10 eggplant seeds in it.
- Put the bag in water for a day.
- Remove from water and transfer to a plate for three to six days. Keep the pouch moist at all times.
- Seeds with sprouting sprouts need to be counted. If they turn out to be half of all wet, they are not bad and suitable for planting.
Preparing eggplant seeds for sowing
In order for planting material to give friendly shoots, it must be processed. To do this, a weak solution of potassium permanganate is made and the seeds are soaked in it for half an hour. Then they are washed with clean water and placed for a day in a solution that is prepared independently. For one liter of water, it is enough to add a spoonful of ash or nitrophoska. After the done manipulations, the seeds must be placed on a plate for germination. This processing method is considered the easiest.
Seedlings will sprout faster and the fruits will ripen earlier if they are hardened after processing. To do this, place the seeds in the refrigerator, let them lie there for two days. After that, take it out and place it in a warm room, and then put it in the refrigerator again for the same time. Hardened seeds are immediately sown in containers or soil.
Soil preparation
Growing eggplant seedlings largely depends on the soil. It can be prepared independently with different compositioncomponents.
- Option 1: sod land, peat and humus are mixed in equal proportions.
- Option 2: take high-moor peat, soddy land, humus, sand or sawdust in a ratio of 60:10:20:5. The unit of calculation is interest.
- Option 3: you need to mix lowland peat, compost, humus, river sand in a ratio of 4:3:1:1.
- When buying ready-made soil, sand is added to it at the rate of 2:10.
If the seeds are sown directly into the ground and seedlings will be grown here, the site must be prepared in advance. At the end of autumn, before the onset of cold weather, humus, superphosphate, potassium chloride are scattered over the surface of the beds in the proportion of 3 kg: 400 g: 100 g. This amount of fertilizer is calculated for a plot area of one square meter.
Planting tanks
Before you start growing eggplant seedlings, you need to think about what to plant it in. There are many options, but everyone chooses the most suitable for the conditions in which the plants will grow. Regardless of preferences, the container must be seven centimeters high, no less, otherwise the roots will develop incompletely.
- Plastic cassettes are interconnected cells. Drainage holes with different volume and quantity have been made at their bottom.
- Peat tablets are the best way to grow seedlings. Such containers are made from a composition prepared for plants. They are good because they dissolve in the ground when planting, in the future the roots do not develop incramped conditions.
- Peat pots - similar to pills, but they are more often used to dive seedlings.
- Plastic cups - containers with a volume of 200 ml are used for sowing seeds. Seedlings dive into large cups - 500 ml.
- Boxes made of wood and plastic are the most common containers for growing seedlings, but also the worst for plants, as their roots are often damaged during transplantation.
Traditional sowing method
Vegetables are susceptible to transplantation, so growing eggplant seedlings at home without picking is considered the best option. How it's done? Prepared containers are filled with moderately moistened soil. There should be no excess water, otherwise the seeds will suffocate, seedlings may not appear. You can do it differently. Fill the boxes with soil, put a grid with cells on top. Each nest acts as a separate cup. Several seeds (1-2 pieces) are placed in a container or cell. They are buried in the soil by one or two centimeters and sprinkled with the same soil in a thin layer. Containers with landings are placed in a warm and dark place. If the seeds are planted immediately in the soil of the greenhouse, the crops must be covered with lutrasil. Germination should be expected in 10-14 days.
Growing eggplant seedlings according to the method of Galina Kizima
This method is popular with gardeners, as the result is space saving, and most importantly, effort. First, the base is prepared. As a substrateyou can take a laminate, insulation or other material. It must be cut into strips of the desired length and prepare the soil. Then pour it on a substrate three to five centimeters thick, moisten well with water and compact with your palms. Next, spread the seeds along the entire length of the strip. The distance between them should be four to five centimeters, three centimeters should be retreated from the edge. The substrate, together with its contents, should be rolled up. If there is not enough land, it is poured. Get a "snail". It can be of different lengths and diameters. Its size depends on how many seeds you need to get seedlings. Not only eggplants are sown with this method, but also other crops, such as tomatoes, peppers, cabbage and others.
Then the roll is fixed with an elastic band in several places. The finished "snail" with planting material is placed on a pallet. It is not watered until sprouts appear, it is covered with a bag on top to create a greenhouse effect. The pallet with "rolls" is placed in a large box and left in a warm room, preferably near the battery. So that the seedlings in the box do not cool from below, it must be placed on something warm. When the first shoots appear, the film is removed. For the further growth of seedlings, you need to install sources of additional lighting.
Pros and cons of Galina Kizima's method
Merit includes:
- Space savings. This is especially true when there is a lack of lighted places for planting seedlings.
- The plants do not have contact with the soil, which avoids infection with diseases such as blackleg.
- The substrates are not disposableuse.
The disadvantages of the method include:
- Plants are not getting enough light.
- Seedling stems grow thin and stretch upwards.
- Plants are transplanted into separate containers anyway.
Sowing seeds in boiling water
Using this method guarantees rapid germination. The prepared soil is placed in a greenhouse. Its thickness should be three to four centimeters. Seeds are scattered over the surface, then poured with boiling water, but so that the water does not cover the soil. Planting material is not buried. The greenhouse is covered with a lid and placed in a room where it is warm and light. After three or four days shoots will appear.
The most convenient way
Growing eggplant seedlings in peat tablets is considered an easy and very convenient way. Plants do not need to dive, as a result of which they do not receive stress, the roots remain undamaged. Seedlings grown in this way will be strong and he althy.
For planting, you need to purchase a set of peat tablets complete with a lid and a tray. The side shell is pre-removed. The tablets are filled with water. When they swell, seeds are placed in them, one at a time, deepened by one centimeter and covered with tablet soil from above. Landings are covered with a lid and placed in a room with a warm microclimate.
Chinese way
In the regions of the middle zone of our country, experts recommend sowing seeds for seedlingsbe held in the second and third decades of March. By the end of the last month of spring, young plants will reach the age of 70-80 days. Experienced vegetable growers noticed that if you plant seedlings in the ground, which are only 60 days old, the eggplant yield is halved. But the Chinese continued to experiment. They started planting seedlings at the age of 120-130 days. This is the Chinese way of growing eggplant seedlings. Following their technology, it is necessary to sow seeds for seedlings from the end of January (30th) to the first decade of February. Yields of eggplant grown using this method are very high.
How to care for seedlings?
The process of growing eggplant seedlings is the correct and timely care. Young plants will grow and develop well if the temperature and humidity conditions in the room or greenhouse are observed. In addition, seedlings should be fed, hardened, otherwise it may get sick or die when transplanted to other conditions. If pests appear, plants should be sprayed.
Water seedlings
Young plants should be watered at intervals of two to three days. You need to use warm, settled water for this. After the procedure, the soil should be mulched so that there is no root rot. Dry sand is suitable for this. Approximately once every half a month, when watering, you need to add antifungal drugs, Trichodermin, for example.
Feeding seedlings
For good growth and development, plants need a lot of nutrition. When will appeartwo or three leaves, the first feeding is carried out. In the future, it should be done 10-14 days after the pick. Top dressing is carried out simultaneously with watering. After the procedure, it is imperative to wash the leaves with plain water so that young plants do not get burned. The nutrient solution is prepared independently. Urea - 5-10 g and superphosphate - 30 g should be dissolved in 10 liters of water.
The next top dressing is carried out with the same solution a week before planting the seedlings in the place of permanent growth. For top dressing, you can use the fertilizer "Kemira", which contains in its composition all the microelements necessary for plants.
Seedling hardening process
Before planting plants in the garden, it is necessary to gradually accustom them to a new environment in which they will grow, form ovaries and bear fruit. To do this, you need to reduce watering, reduce the air temperature in the room. Seedlings should be taken out to a cool room for two hours at first, and then left in a new microclimate for a long time. Seedlings are considered prepared for planting if their height reaches 16-25 cm, the number of leaves is seven to nine, and the number of buds is one or two. The root system should be well developed, the trunk should be straight.
Planting seedlings in the ground
This process is not difficult, but requires care. Planting holes for plants should be shallow, about 12 cm, the distance between them is 50. Ash is added to each hole, and the soil in it is moistened with potassium permanganate, a weak solution. Before removing the seedlings from the container, it must be plentifulwater. Let it stand for two hours, the earth will become soft, and the roots will not be damaged. After planting in the holes, the plants are sprinkled with soil and watered again. If the weather is hot in the following days, shade should be created.
Features of cultivation
Eggplants are not only tasty, but also he althy vegetables. They are involved in the processes of hematopoiesis, reduce cholesterol, are useful in diabetes and many other diseases. But in order to get a unique vegetable, you first need to grow strong planting material. What are the features of growing eggplant seedlings? In accordance with agrotechnical rules, plants need warm and humid conditions for normal growth and fruiting. In dry soil, they stop growing. If they still bloom and form ovaries, they fall off. Such plants have bitter fruits and an ugly shape.
Excessive moisture also has a negative effect, various diseases begin to develop. Vegetables do not tolerate frost, even small ones. They need sunny weather. But intense heat also depresses them, especially with insufficient watering at this time. In addition, plants have large foliage and a weak root system. This does not allow the vegetable to transfer the transplant well. Therefore, it is recommended to grow seedlings immediately in cups so as not to pick. Before transporting it to a greenhouse or to a summer cottage, the plants do not need to be watered. This will make them easier to transport.
